


12 Days and 8 Crazy Nights

by ReaperWriter



Series: 8 Crazy Nights [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 16:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaperWriter/pseuds/ReaperWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy and Steve spend Channukah with her family.  Steve reflects on their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	12 Days and 8 Crazy Nights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meri_contrary](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=meri_contrary).



Steve’s first Christmas post big thaw had been spent in a bunker in Afghanistan, lending support to an offensive designed to protect an orphanage and school from a Taliban incursion. It wasn’t the Christmases of his childhood, but the turkey MREs weren’t all that different from the Christmases he spent with the Howling Commandos during the war.

Steve’s second Christmas, he had been suffering from a case, according to Tony, of the Grinch. He had been unfortunately caught in the madness of Black Friday shopping, and the news cycle had dragged him down from there. Tony and Pepper were out of town for the holiday. Natasha and Clint were on assignment. Bruce was doing a volunteer thing somewhere in Africa. And Thor was…well, wherever Thor was. He ended up doing some events in uniform at orphanages and children’s hospitals, and then retreated to his apartment with Chinese take-out, TV dinners, and old Christmas movies on TV.

This year, though, he had Darcy. When he had met her, in early March, she and Jane Foster had just arrived from London with Thor, and had been quickly subsumed into Stark Industries and their happy little cohort of mad science. Soon, Tony, Bruce, and Jane were running between each other’s labs, tearing holes in time and space. And shortly after, Darcy was riding herd over all of them, making them eat, sleep, shower, and limiting their ability actually blow things up. Soon, Pepper had put her on the payroll as a special assistant, and SHIELD expanded her duties to the rest of the team.

Normally, Steve bristled at being handled, but there was something about Darcy. Whether it was her snarky wit, or her fierce loyalty, or her willingness to throw herself into danger for her friends, she had gotten under his skin. Soon, he found himself inviting her along to grab coffee at the little diner he found in midtown and asking her to check out gallery shows and museum openings. She kissed him on Memorial Day weekend by the pool at Stark’s rebuilt Malibu mansion. He kissed her the first time on his birthday, watching the fireworks from the roof of the tower.

Now, months later, he was staring down the barrel of the holidays. And for once, that meant more than Christmas and New Year’s. Darcy’s parents were a mixed marriage. Her dad, Stuart, had been raised a Quaker in Pennsylvania, though he mostly attended Unitarian services these days when he made it to a church. Her mother, though. Channah Levy-Lewis was the daughter of rebellious Reform Jews who had come from Orthodox families. While she didn’t keep true kosher, Darcy did take the high holy holidays seriously, and her mother’s family was especially serious about Chanukah. 

Growing up in Brooklyn, Steve was not entirely clueless about the upcoming celebrations, but he had never seen anything quite like this. They had arrived at Darcy’s Grandma Levy’s house in Connecticut the morning of the first night of the holiday, loaded down with bags and boxes and packages. Darcy had made him stop in Brooklyn and had practically bought out a Jewish Bakery a couple of blocks from his old apartment. Walking in, he could see why.

Channah had been one of five kids, all of whom had married and had children. In addition to Darcy and her older brother Issac, there were 19 cousins in her generation, many of whom now had children themselves. The old house was full to bursting as the kids ran around playing and the Levy women were crammed into the kitchen, cooking up a feast. Before long, Darcy had sent him outside to play basketball with the older kids, while she got the younger kids settled down to work on some coloring sheets.

“So,” Issac said, as they dodged around some of the other cousins and drove towards the hoop. “What are your intentions with my sister?”

Steve raised an eyebrow, then ducked and drove hard right, jumping easily to dunk the ball. The younger cousins hooted and slapped him on the back. “We’re dating. Getting to know each other. Taking our time.”

“Just don’t take too much time,” Issac said, grinning. “Nana Levy isn’t getting any younger, and she wants to see her under a chuppah.”

“Duly noted,” Steve replied. “Then again, how would she feel about an interfaith ceremony? I am a good Catholic boy, you know.”

“Well, she survived mom’s.” Just then, Steve darted around and stole the ball, driving down the court for another easy basket. “Figures.”

Later, after he had cleaned up, he smiled across the room at Darcy as her Grandmother performed the ceremonial lighting of the first night’s candle. Watching the light play off her hair and sparkle in her bright blue eyes, he thought about the last present he had for Darcy for the eighth night. The ring had been his mother’s. Small, rose gold with a diamond. He had been thinking about it for months, but tonight, surrounded by this large, boisterous family, he was sure.

She slipped over to stand beside him. “What has you grinning like that?”

“This is kind of how I always imagined Christmas,” he said. Darcy looked at him and laughed.

“You imagined Christmas with a menorah and matzo and dreidels? Because there will be lots, and lots of dreidels later.”

“No,” he said softly. “But when I was a kid, it was Mom and me, and we never had much. She did the best she could, usually managed to get me something small, make a special meal, but it was always just the two of us, you know. I always wondered what a holiday was like with a family like this. Cousins and siblings and grandparents. It’s nice. Overwhelming, a little bit. But nice.”

“Well, then, happy Channukah, Steve Rogers,” Darcy said, squeezing his hand. “I’m glad you can share it with me.”

“I’m glad I could spend it with someone I love,” he whispered, leaning down and pulling her in for a kiss.

“Aunt Darcy, EWWW,” hollered Issac’s son, Nathaniel. “Come on, you promised to play dreidels with me.”

“Go,” he said, squeezing her hand. “We have time. Lots of time.”

“I love you too,” she said, pecking his cheek. Then she turned and grabbed the bag of chocolate gelt. “Okay, kids! Who’s gonna beat me on the dreidel. I’ve been practicing while I taught Steve. “ 

Watching her settle in with the kids, Steve smiled and leaned into the wall, watching. Yup, this was a lot like he imagined it.


End file.
